Sharif Digital Repository

Here we study the effects of many-body interactions on rate and mechanism in protein folding by using the results of molecular dynamics simulations on numerous coarse-grained Cα-model single-domain proteins. After adding three-body interactions explicitly as a perturbation to a Gō-like Hamiltonian with native pairwise interactions only, we have found (i) a significantly increased correlation with experimental φ values and folding rates, (ii) a stronger correlation of folding rate with contact order, matching the experimental range in rates when the fraction of three-body energy in the native state is ≈20%, and (iii) a considerably larger amount of three-body energy present in chymotripsin... 

Nanostructured TiO2 hollow fibers have been prepared using natural cellulose fibers as a template. This cheap and easily processed material was used to produce highly porous photoanodes incorporated in dye-sensitized solar cells and exhibited remarkably enhanced electron transport properties compared to mesoscopic films made of spherical nanoparticles. Photoinjected electron lifetime, in particular, was multiplied by 3-4 in the fiber morphology, while the electron transport rate within the fibrous photoanaode was doubled. A nearly quantitative absorbed photon-to-electrical current conversion yield exceeding 95% was achieved upon excitation at 550 nm and a photovoltaic power conversion... 

In this work we report a new thermochemical method for the synthesis of ZnS:Mn nanocrystals. Zn(NO3)2 and Na2S 2O3 were used as the precursors and Mn(NO 3)2 was the source of impurity. Thioglycerol (TG,C 3H8O2S) was also used as the capping agent and the catalyst of the reaction. Na2S2O3 is a heat sensitive material which releases S species upon heating. Consequently, the reaction proceeds in temperatures higher than room temperature. The reaction was done in two steps. In the first step, the precursors were heated at 96 °C for an hour without TG. In the second step, TG was injected to the solution and the heating process was continued for longer heating durations. A fast growth occurred in...